The present invention mainly relates to a radiation-image radiographing system comprising a radiation-image reading apparatus to output the digitized image data, and controllers.
Recently, there is a strong tendency to increase the efficiency and speed of the diagnosis by digitizing radiation image information of a patient generated in a hospital and by storing and electrically transmitting it. Therefore, in the field of the direct radiographing, instead of the conventional screen/film system, a radiation-image radiographing system to output the digital data utilizing the stimulable phosphor substance is frequently used.
This radiation-image radiographing system utilizing this stimulable phosphor substance is called a common name computed radiography (CR). In this apparatus, a part of the radiographic energy transmitted through a subject is stored once in the stimulable phosphor substance. The energy stored in the stimulable phosphor substance can be taken out as the stimulative light by exciting it by the predetermined wavelength laser light. This stimulaitve light can be taken out as an electric signal by using a photoelectric conversion element such as a photo-multiplier.
The radiation-image radiographing system can be largely classified into an exclusive type radiation-image radiographing system which can not so simply be carried, in which the stimulable phosphor substance is housed, and a cassette type radiation-image radiographing system using a cassette in which the stimulable phosphor substance is housed, and which can be carried.
Referring to FIG. 1 showing the cassette type radiation-image radiographing system using the stimulable phosphor substance, the cassette type radiation-image radiographing system using the stimulable phosphor substance will be described below. A cassette 6 is portable one in which a stimulable phosphor substance sheet 8 storing a portion of the radiographic energy is housed. In a radiographing room, a subject M is positioned between a radiographic tube 9 and the cassette 6, and the radioactive ray from the radiographic tube 9 is irradiated toward the cassette 6. The stimulable phosphor substance sheet 8 in the cassette 6 stores a part of the irradiated radiographic energy.
Then, when the cassette 6 is set to a radiation-image reading apparatus 1, the radiation-image reading apparatus 1 reads out the radiation image information stored in the stimulable phosphor substance sheet 8. Further, a controller 2 has a monitor for which the patient information and the information such as a radiographing portion relating to the image stored on the cassette 6, is inputted and by which the read-out image by the radiation-image reading apparatus 1 is confirmed.
Then, the radiation-image reading apparatus 1, in order to read-out the radiation image information stored in the stimulable phosphor substance sheet 8 in the cassette 6, irradiates the excitation light onto the stimulable phosphor substance sheet and photoelectric converts the stimulative light emitted corresponding to the radiation image information stored by the irradiated excitation light, and after A/D conversion, outputs as the digital image data, however, the high accuracy is required for these systems, and the cost is considerably high.
Further, in order to enable to simultaneously set a plurality of cassettes of sheets of film, which are photographed in the inspection of one time, the radiation-image reading apparatus 1 is large sized.
Then, conventionally, in such the cassette type radiation-image radiographing system, the radiation-image reading apparatus 1 and its exclusive controller 2 are integrated, or separately connected in 1 to 1. Accordingly, in many cases, one set of radiation-image reading apparatus 1 and its exclusive controller 2 are installed per a plurality of radiographing rooms. However, the radiographing operation in the radiographing room in which this set is not installed, is inconvenient, and because the time interval between the radiographing and the input of the patient information and radiographing information is long, the input mistake of the radiographic engineer tends to occur.
Further, because the time until the engineer goes to the radiation-image reading apparatus 1 from the radiographing room, and sets the cassette and returns to the radiographing room after the image confirmation, becomes long, there is a problem that the instruction of the next radiographing can not be given to the patient between the time, or as the result of the image confirmation after the photographed patient goes out of the radiographing room, when the re-radiographing is necessary, the calling out becomes necessary. Accordingly, although it is considered that at least one set of the radiation-image reading apparatus 1 and its exclusive controller 2 is installed in each radiographing room in the hospital, because it is installed irrespective of the frequency of the radiographing in the radiographing room, it is uneconomical, and further, the mounting space becomes large, and the cost is high.
Further, in any case, there is a problem, when any one of the radiation-image reading apparatus 1 or its controller 2 is faulty, both of them cannot be used.
Further, as another system from said radiographic photographic system, a system shown in FIG. 2 is proposed. In this system, simultaneously when the patient information of the patient to be photographed by the cassette 6, and the information of a photographic position is inputted at the information input terminal 5, the ID number to discriminate the stimulable phosphor substance sheet 8 accommodated in the cassette 6 is read out, and as a series of information corresponding to the patient information or radiographing position information, it is stored in the server 4 through the network 3. When the patient radiographing using the cassette 6 is completed, the cassette 6 is set to the radiation-image reading apparatus 1, and in the same manner as the radiation-image reading apparatus 1, the radiation image information stored in the stimulable phosphor substance sheet 8 in the set cassette 6 is read out. At the time, by the radiation-image reading apparatus 1, the ID number of the stimulable phosphor substance sheet 8 is also read out. The radiation-image reading apparatus 1 refers the registration information corresponding to the read out ID number to the server 4. The radiation-image reading apparatus 1 makes correspondence of the registration information answered from the server 4 with the read out radiation image information, and transfers it to an image confirmation apparatus 7. Because the registration information and the radiation image information from a plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus 1 are collected in the image confirmation apparatus 7, the final confirmation of the image is conducted therein.
In this system, a plurality of information input terminals 5 and radiation-image reading apparatus 1 are connected to the network 3. In each radiographing room of the hospital, only the information input terminal 5 is installed, and when, in a common space between the radiographing rooms, a plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus 1 are installed, the installation space can be more reduced.
However, in each radiographing room, because the image confirmation apparatus 7 is not installed, there is a problem that the radiologist who is charge of radiographing cannot confirm the image. Accordingly, a full-time person who uses the image confirmation apparatus 7 and conducts the image confirmation, is necessary, and there is a defect, which results in an increase of the human cost.
Further, when the image confirmation apparatus 7 is malfunctioned, there is a defect that the image read out by whole radiation-image reading apparatus 1 cannot be confirmed.
Accordingly, it is considered that the image confirmation apparatus 7 is installed in each radiographing room. According to this, when a nurse or an assistant goes to set the cassette 6 to the radiation-image reading apparatus 1, the radiologist can input the patient information or radiographing information or confirm the image, without going-out from the radiographing room. However, when the information input terminal 5 and the image confirmation apparatus 7 are installed in each radiographing room, there is a problem that a large installation space is necessary, and the wiring easily becomes complicated.
Further, because it is necessary that both of the information input terminal 5 and the image confirmation apparatus 7 are installed in each radiographing room, the cost is increased. Further, because it is necessary that the radiologist operates both of the controller 2 and the image confirmation apparatus 7, the operation efficiency is lowered.
Further, because the images photographed in other radiographing rooms are returned to the image confirmation apparatus 7, it takes a long period of time to find out his own photographed image. In order to avoid this problem, in the case where the image confirmation apparatus 7 is directly connected to respective radiation-image reading apparatus 1, when either one of the radiation-image reading apparatus 1 or the image confirmation apparatus 7 is faulty, a new problem that both of them can not be used, is generated.
To overcome the abovementioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a radiation-image radiographing system in which the radiologist can input the patient information relating to the radiographing and reading or the radiographing information, or can conduct the image confirmation or the change of the image processing, at a position near the site of the radiographing, and to the user, the operation efficiency is good and an easily operable circumstance can be provided, and the installation area of the apparatus is reduced, and the introduction cost is low and the expandability is high. Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a system in which, even when a portion of the component is faulty, the other component can correspond to that, and which is easily operable and whose reliability is high.
Accordingly, to overcome the cited shortcomings, the abovementioned objects of the present invention can be attained by network systems described as follow.
(1) A network system for radiographing radiation images, comprising: a plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus to read the radiation images stored in radiation-image storing sheets so as to generate image data sets each of which corresponds to each of the radiation images; and a plurality of controllers to register discrimination information sets each of which corresponds to each of the radiation-image storing sheets; wherein said plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus and said plurality of controllers are coupled each other to form said network system, and each of the controllers can display a radiation image for confirmation, when it receives an image data set corresponding to the radiation image, the radiation image being one of the radiation images and the image data set being one of the image data sets; and wherein a radiation-image reading apparatus reads a discrimination information set recorded on a radiation-image storing sheet loaded into the radiation-image reading apparatus, in order to specify a controller, which registered the discrimination information set of the radiation-image storing sheet, on the basis of the discrimination information set, so as to transmit the image data set, read from the radiation-image storing sheet, to the controller specified by the radiation-image reading apparatus, and the radiation-image reading apparatus, the discrimination information set, the radiation-image storing sheet and the controller are one of the plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus, one of the discrimination information sets, one of the radiation-image storing sheets and one of the plurality of controllers, respectively.
(2) The network system of item 1, wherein the radiation-image storing sheet can be loaded into any one of the plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus, even if any one of the plurality of controllers registers the discrimination information set of the radiation-image storing sheet.
(3) The network system of item 1, wherein, when the image data set read from the radiation-image storing sheet cannot be transmitted to the controller specified by the radiation-image reading apparatus, the image data set is transmitted to another controller, being one of the plurality of controllers.
(4) The network system of item 1, wherein each of the controllers comprises an acquiring section to acquire identification data of an operator who controls a controller concerned, and registers the discrimination information set of the radiation-image storing sheet in conjunction with the identification data of the operator; and wherein, when the image data set read from the radiation-image storing sheet cannot be transmitted to the controller specified by the radiation-image reading apparatus, the image data set is transmitted to another controller in which the acquiring section acquires the identification data of the operator coinciding with that in respect to the image data set.
(5) The network system of item 1, wherein each of the controllers registers the discrimination information sets of the radiation-image storing sheets in respect to a subject in conjunction with subject""s identification data, and displays a predetermined message, when it receives the image data sets read from all of the radiation-image storing sheets in respect to the subject.
(6) The network system of item 1, wherein each of the controllers can change an order of the image data sets read from the radiation-image storing sheets in respect to a subject when outputting the image data sets.
(7) The network system of item 1, further comprising: a database section to store a database of recording files, each of which includes the discrimination information set registered by the controller and controller-discrimination information set corresponding to the controller; wherein the database section retrieves the discrimination information set from any one of the plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus and returns a recording file concerned, being one of the recording files, and then, the radiation-image reading apparatus specifies a controller, which registered the discrimination information set of the radiation-image storing sheet, on the basis of the discrimination information set included in the recording file, so as to transmit the image data set, read from the radiation-image storing sheet, to the controller specified by the radiation-image reading apparatus.
(8) The network system of item 2, further comprising: a database section to store a database of recording files, each of which includes the discrimination information set registered by the controller and controller-discrimination information set corresponding to the controller; wherein the database section retrieves the discrimination information set from any one of the plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus and returns a recording file concerned, being one of the recording files, and then, the radiation-image reading apparatus specifies a controller, which registered the discrimination information set of the radiation-image storing sheet, on the basis of the discrimination information set included in the recording file, so as to transmit the image data set, read from the radiation-image storing sheet, to the controller specified by the radiation-image reading apparatus.
(9) The network system of item 1, wherein the controller can transmit a recording file, including the discrimination information set registered by the controller and a controller-discrimination information set corresponding to the controller, to all of the plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus, and the radiation-image reading apparatus stores the recording file and transmits the image data set, on the basis of the controller-discrimination information set included in the recording file coinciding with the discrimination information set of the radiation-image storing sheet.
(10) The network system of item 1, wherein the radiation-image reading apparatus retrieves a coincided recording file in respect to all of the plurality of controllers by utilizing the discrimination information set of the radiation-image storing sheet, and transmits the image data set read from the radiation-image storing sheet to a controller having the coincided recording file.
(11) The network system of item 1, wherein each of the controllers also registers a radiographing information set including data, such as a body part of a subject to be radiographed, a radiographing direction, radiographing conditions, etc., in addition to the discrimination information set of the radiation-image storing sheet currently utilized for radiographing the subject, and the controller determines a reading condition for reading the radiation-image storing sheet on the basis of the radiographing information set registered by the controller; and wherein the radiation-image reading apparatus acquires the reading condition on the basis of the discrimination information set of the radiation-image storing sheet, and reads a radiation image stored in the radiation-image storing sheet under the reading condition acquired, so as to generate the image data set.
(12) The network system of item 1, wherein each of the controllers also registers a radiographing information set including data, such as a body part of a subject to be radiographed, a radiographing direction, radiographing conditions, etc., in addition to the discrimination information set of the radiation-image storing sheet currently utilized for radiographing the subject; and wherein the controller applies an image-processing onto the image data set received in conjunction with the discrimination information set of the radiation-image storing sheet on the basis of the radiographing information set, which coincides with the discrimination information set, so as to output an image-processed image data set.
(13) The network system of item 1, wherein each of the controllers controls an exclusive type radiation-image reading apparatus, and receives an image data set outputted by the exclusive type radiation-image reading apparatus, synchronizing with a radiographing operation performed by the exclusive type radiation-image reading apparatus.
Further, to overcome the abovementioned problems, other radiation-image radiographing systems, embodied in the present invention, will be described as follow:
(14) A radiation-image radiographing system in which a plurality of controllers to register a discrimination information (also referred to as a discrimination information set) of a radiation-image storing sheet, and a plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus to read the radiation image stored in the radiation-image storing sheet and output an image data (also referred to as an image data set) are arranged on the same network, wherein, when the controller receives the image which is read from the radiation-image storing sheet by the radiation-image reading apparatus, the controller can display the image for confirmation, and even the radiation-image storing sheet whose discrimination information is registered by any one of the plurality of controllers, can be set to any one of the plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus, and the radiation-image reading apparatus reads the discrimination information of the set radiation-image storing sheet, and even any one of the plurality of the radiation-image reading apparatus, according to the discrimination information read by the radiation-image reading apparatus, specifies the controller in which the discrimination information of the radiation-image storing sheet is registered, and try to transmit the radiation image which is read from the radiation-image storing sheet by the radiation-image reading apparatus, to the specified controller.
(15) A radiation-image radiographing system according to item 14, wherein, in the case where the radiation image which is read from the radiation-image storing sheet by the radiation-image reading apparatus, is tried to be transmitted to the specified controller, when the transmission to the controller can not be carried out, the image is tried to be transmitted to another controller.
(16) A radiation-image radiographing system according to item 15, wherein all of the plurality of controllers have a means (also referred to as an acquiring section) for obtaining the discrimination information proper to an operator (also referred to as identification data of an operator) of the controller, and when the controller registers the discrimination information of the radiation-image storing sheet, the discrimination information proper to the operator of the controller is also registered together with it, and in the case where the radiation-image reading apparatus tries to transmit the radiation image read from the radiation-image storing sheet by the radiation-image reading apparatus to the specified controller, when the transmission to the controller can not be carried out, it is tried to be transmitted to the controller, in other controllers, with which the discrimination information proper to the operator coincides.
(17) A radiation-image radiographing system according to any one of items 14-16, wherein, when the discrimination information of a plurality of radiation-image storing sheets relating to one subject are registered, the discrimination information proper to the subject (also referred to as subject""s identification data) can also be registered together with it, and in the case where the discrimination information of the plurality of radiation-image storing sheets relating to the one subject, are registered, when the discrimination information proper to the subject is registered together with it, in the case where all of the image which is read from the plurality of radiation-image storing sheets relating to the one subject, are received, any display is carried out.
(18) A radiation-image radiographing system according to any one of items 14-17, wherein the controller can arrange images read from the plurality of radiation-image storing sheets in a predetermined order and output them.
(19) A radiation-image radiographing system according to any one of items 14-18, wherein it has, on the same network, a data base means (also referred to as a database section) for storing the data base of the record including the discrimination information of the radiation-image storing sheets registered by at least the plurality of controllers and the discrimination information of the controller in which the discrimination information is registered, and the data base means can be searched by the discrimination information of the radiation-image storing sheet from any one of the plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus, and the corresponding record is returned, and according to the discrimination information of the controller of the returned record, each one of the plurality of the radiation-image reading apparatus specifies the controller registered relating to the radiation-image storing sheet, and tries to transmit the radiation image read from the radiation-image storing sheet by the radiation-image reading apparatus to the specified controller.
(20) A radiation-image radiographing system according to any one of items 14-18, wherein any one the plurality of controllers transmits the discrimination information of the radiation-image storing sheet registered by the controller and the record including the discrimination information of the controller (also referred to as a controller-discrimination information set) to all of the plurality of the radiation-image reading apparatus, and any one of the plurality of the radiation-image reading apparatus stores the received record, and according to the discrimination information of the controller of the record which coincides with the discrimination information of the read radiation-image storing sheet, tries to transmit the read image.
(21) A radiation-image radiographing system according to any one of items 14-18, wherein any one of the plurality of radiation-image reading apparatus searches the record which coincides with the discrimination information of the radiation-image storing sheet to all of the plurality of the controllers, by the read discrimination information of the radiation-image storing sheet, and to the controller which has the coincidence record, tries to transmit the read image.
(22) A radiation-image radiographing system according to any one of items 14-21, wherein, when the discrimination information of the radiation-image storing sheet is registered by the controller, the radiographing information relating to the radiographing position of the subject to be photographed by the radiation-image storing sheet, or the radiographing direction or radiographing condition is also registered with together, and the controller determines the reading condition of the radiation-image storing sheet according to the registered radiographing information, and the radiation-image reading apparatus obtains the reading condition according to the discrimination information of the read radiation-image storing sheet, and according to the obtained reading condition, the image data is read from the radiation-image storing sheet.
(23) A radiation-image radiographing system according to any one of items 14-22, wherein, when the discrimination information of the radiation-image storing sheet is registered by the controller, the radiographing information relating to the radiographing position of the subject to be photographed by the radiation-image storing sheet, or the radiographing direction or radiographing condition is also registered with together, and the controller image processes the image data received together with the discrimination information of the radiation-image storing sheet, and outputs it, according to the radiographing information which coincides with the discrimination information of the radiation-image storing sheet.
(24) A radiation-image radiographing system according to any one of items 14-23, wherein the controller can control the exclusive type photographic image reading apparatus, and the image data outputted from the exclusive type radiation-image reading apparatus can be received synchronously with the radiographing by the exclusive type radiation-image reading apparatus.